Vi Hilbert (; ; July 24, 1918 – December 19, 2008)[1] was an Upper Skagit elder and conservationist of her traditional culture and of the Lushootseed language, of which she was the last fully fluent heritage speaker. She taught Lushootseed at the University of Washington for 17 years (1971–1988),[2] where she also transcribed and translated Lushootseed recordings from the 1950s. This work is preserved in the university's audio library.
Hilbert was an enrolled member of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, a tribe located in Skagit County, Washington. She was named a Washington Living Treasure in 1989, and received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts,[3] presented by President Bill Clinton, in 1994. She co-wrote Lushootseed grammars and dictionaries, partially with linguist Thom Hess, and published books of stories, teachings, and place names related to her native region, the Puget Sound .
Hilbert was born to Charlie [4] and Louise Anderson on July 24, 1918, near Lyman, Washington, on the Skagit River.[5] She was the only one of their eight children to live past the age of 3.[2] Her parents spoke Lushootseed with each other and their friends, which encouraged the young Hilbert to begin to learn the language. Her father was a fisherman, a logger, and a canoe maker, whose canoe the "Question Mark" is housed in the Smithsonian Museum Archive. The family moved frequently in search of work, which resulted in Hilbert attending 15 different schools. For a while, she attended a boarding school at Tulalip. In high school, she attended the Chemawa Indian Boarding School near Salem, Oregon. From there, she transferred to Franklin High School in Portland to get the best education she could find, while working as a domestic to support herself financially.[1]
In an interview, Hilbert stated that she was nearly a victim of the US policy of internment of Japanese Americans, however, she was ultimately able to prove her Native American heritage.[6]
Hilbert was married three times.[1] Her first marriage was to Percy Woodcock in 1936 and they lived together in Taholah, Washington. They had two children: son Denny, born in 1937, and daughter Lois, born in 1938. Denny died of meningitis in 1940, after which the couple separated and she moved to Nooksack (near Bellingham, Washington) to live with her parents.
Hilbert's second marriage was to Bob Coy in 1942 at Tulalip (near Marysville, Washington). She gave birth to son Ron in 1943.
Her third and final marriage was in 1945 to Henry Donald "Donny" Hilbert, who honorably served in World War II, surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor while aboard the USS West Virginia. Donny subsequently adopted Hilbert's children from her previous marriages. They lived in a house they built in south Seattle until 2003, when they moved to Bow, Washington.[1] Donny preceded Vi in death.
She had a son Ron (č̓adəsqidəb) Hilbert Coy and a daughter Lois (yapentuk) Dodson. Lois had a son Jay (dᶻətasəbqiʔ) and a daughter Jill (tsisqʷux̌ʷaɬ), who is named after Hilbert's mother.[7] All of them, including Hilbert, were given their names in a ceremony led by elder Isadore (pətius) Tom in 1978.[8]
Hilbert died at her home in La Conner on the morning of December 19, 2008. She was surrounded by her family at the time of her death.[9] The taqʷšəblu Vi Hilbert Ethnobotanical Garden, and Vi Hilbert Hall at Seattle University are named in her honor.[10]